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Super Talking Time Bros. 2: The Last Levels
How to solve the System Tray/Audio Codec/Gradual Slowdown bug in SMBX Don't forget, SMBX defaults to your system codec for its audio. For a lot of you, it'll be something like FFDShow, and it can usually be found in your system tray while in use. So you need to adjust your codec in its control panel to run only one multiple instance, or disable multiple instances altogether, depending on which option doesn't cut off various sound effects while playing SMBX. Otherwise it will flood your tray and eventually slow down your system or crash. Once you apply this fix, quit SMBX and wait for your tray to clear out before launching it again, just so you can be sure it's taking effect. Game Design Gameplay: We're keeping the same general design philosophy, but the difficulty level should be somewhat higher because this is an expansion. We're aiming to continue the curve from the final words of STTB2. Also, STTB2 had a lot of 1-Ups, so we're aiming to make 1-Ups about half as plentiful as before. World Map: The theme of the game is the Super Squad IN SPACE. (Actual plot forthcoming.) The world map is going to be made up of small "planetoid" worlds with 2 to 3 levels each. This gives us a cha nce to do a lot of different themes. The world map won't be designed until we have most of the levels in place, so go ahead and build your levels and then we'll assemble them into a map. The expansion is a stand-alone episode. That means the player's lives, items, and Red Stars won't carry over the main game. Development Kit A simple kit can be found attached here Simply extract it to your STTB 1+2 installation's "worlds" directory. Graphics Pack At this point we have a healthy collection of home-grown custom graphics already, but some levels need that little extra oomph. Thankfully, the last remnants of the SMBX community have put out an enormous custom graphics pack that contains virtually anything we could want when building a level. It's over 100 megs! Currently, it is available from the official mirror: The SMBX CGFX Pack 3.1 And some various NPC Kirby poses courtesy of SpoonyBardOL: NPC Kirby Rules *You can make as many levels as you want. *The World Map isn't being assembled until most of the levels are done, so don't worry about fitting your level into a particular theme or number of exits. *Constructive criticism is pretty much universally accepted, but actually editing other people's levels is only okay if they say it is. *You're allowed to use custom graphics and music. Always bundle them in a folder with the exact name as your level file. (Don't actually put the level file in this folder, SMBX episodes don't work that way!) *When saving your level, always put your name followed by the name of the level. For example: "yourname-levelname.lvl". (Unlike previous STTB projects, there's no need for a world number. We don't have them in the expansion.) *Don't create clutter by using different file names for incremental updates. Simply provide a new version to overwrite the previous one. You should only change a level's file name if the name of the level itself has changed. *Unless your level requires a specific character, be sure to design it to be playable and beatable with Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad. *Remember only Mario and Luigi can use Yoshi. If Toad or Peach encounter a Yoshi or a Yoshi Egg, it will be transformed into a Kuribo Shoe. If your level requires Yoshi to beat it, make sure the player can switch to Mario or Luigi before giving them a Yoshi. *Don't worry about supporting Link for your level unless he's the star character, because his gameplay style is very different from the others. *We're using Giant Gates from Super Mario World '''for level goals. *Level Goal areas should usually look the same. The picture below provides an example. Just think "Super Mario World", "Yoshi's Island", and "Classic SMB" and you should do fine. *Secret Exits should use '''Key and Keyhole from Super Mario World. *Always place starting locations for Player 1 and Player 2. *Levels should always have a working checkpoint, no matter how hard you think the level is. *'The game can only support one checkpoint per level.' If you have multiple checkpoints, the game will get confused and spawn the player at a checkpoint they didn't actually trigger. *Each level should have one Red Power Star '(selectable in the "Super Mario World" NPC list) hidden somewhere. These should be thought of like DK Coins: They can be in plain sight, or require the player to solve a puzzle or do a trick to acquire them. Remember, the level ''does not end if the player acquires one of these Stars, so place them accordingly. *Red Power Stars should never be invisible, unless offered as a prize for Red Coin challenges. (See below). If you want to hide them for any other reason, you may only hide them in '''Giant "?" Blocks. *''No Red Coin levels''. But you can still use Red Coins if you treat them the way they worked in NSMB Wii: Hit a switch, and try to grab eight in rapid succession for a reward, before time runs out and they go away. You'll have to fiddle with events to get it to work, though. *Levels should be winnable without being forced to take a hit. *Never trap the player. If a certain item or powerup is needed to progress in the level, make sure it either respawns, or the player can die if they lost it. *All water and waterfalls should be swimmable. *Invisible blocks should never be made necessary to finish the level. *''Do not use SMB3 Lakitu!'' Instead, pick the NPC you want Lakitu to throw, and make sure the "Lakitu" option on the left side of the NPC panel is set to "yes". This will create a much tamer SMW Lakitu who will throw that NPC regularly. *Never put Lakitu in any area where you can scroll the screen vertically, even just a little bit. He'll try to compensate by approaching infinite speed. *If you add Dragon Coins (Yoshi Coins), keep it to five on average, but no more than eight. *Don't create a block that has Mushroom in it. This will mean you'll only ever get a Mushroom out of it, even if Mario is already big. Instead, put in a different powerup like a Fire Flower or a Leaf; Mario will get that powerup if he's big or the Mushroom if he's small. (Hammer and Tanooki Suits will always be suits regardless of Mario's current size.) *If you have horizontal warp pipes, don't put the warp on center or it'll look weird when you enter. Always put the warp on the floor. Also, make sure any such pipes have a floor or block in front of them you can stand on, even if they're underwater. *NPC Kirby (replacing NPC Toad) doesn't always have to have the one default sprite. You can use lots of different poses and animations to depict him getting into unhelpful mischief throughout your levels. *Custom NPCs that have decimal points in their settings (e.g. speed=1.5) will break the game in some Windows locales. We'll try to advise players to switch their locale before playing, but please only use decimated measurements when it's absolutely necessary. *''Avoid'' secrets that require the player to go over the top of the world or under the bottom. We've done this a lot already, and it leads to players jumping into random pits to see if there's anything hidden down there. *SMBX allows you to have an entrance to a warp outside the visible part of the world. But if the exit'' to a warp is offscreen, going through the warp will kill the player. Be sure to avoid this in your levels.' *Turn Blocks from SMW can be destroyed with a Spin Jump. Make sure to plan your levels accordingly. If you put an item inside a Turn Block, it can't be destroyed. *Just so everyone knows, Rainbow Shells will trigger switch blocks from the right ''side but not from the ''left side. SMBX is weird! Levels (Current star count: 22☆) *'The Munch Bunch' (☆) (madhair60)' '4 *'Castle of Misfit Monsters' (☆) (RedSilvers)' '1 *'The Pit of Ten Trials' (☆) (madhair60)' '2 *'Gofer: Mariodius 2' (☆) (madhair60)' '2 *'Ninji Gaiden' (☆) (Ifnkovhgroghprm)' '5 *'The Undercaves' (☆) (madhair60)' '1 *'Para-Spiny Panic!' (☆) (SpoonyBard)' '1 *'Highlands Hopalong' (☆) (Elements) 1 *'Proud Cloud' (☆) (Rogue) 1 *'Boss: Crystal Peaks' '(☆'☆)' (Rogue)2 *'Cutterman Symphony (☆) (Isrieri) 4 *'Boss: Nemesis' (☆☆')' (Isrieri) 2 *'Platform Games' (☆) (madhair60) 2 *'Stormy Bay' (☆) (Ifnkovhgroghprm) 3 *'Poltergeist Playground' (☆) (Ifnkovhgroghprm)' '5 *'Falling Block Game' (☆) (TE-Ryan) 2 *'The Marsh Cave' (☆☆')' (Alex Scott) 3 *'Hop On The Bombbles' (☆) (Isrieri) 2 *'Boss: Winter Palace' (☆☆')' (Ifnkovhgroghprm) 3 *'Tower Power '(☆) (Rogue)3 *'Skydancer '(☆) (Isrieri) 1